EMR integration terminology
The vocabulary used in Awell's EMR integrations, from HL7 and Mirth to ADT, SIU and ORU messages, with what each is used for.
The vocabulary that comes up in an electronic medical record (EMR) integration conversation. Platform terms like care flow, track and step are in Key terms instead.
API
An Application Programming Interface defines how two pieces of software talk to each other.
Used for: creating a patient, starting a care flow, stopping a care flow, creating a user.
HL7
Health Level Seven is a set of international standards for transferring clinical and administrative data between healthcare software.
Used for: getting patient information from the hospital, which happens through HL7 queries.
Mirth
Mirth Connect is an open-source, cross-platform interface engine supporting bi-directional HL7 messaging between systems.
Used for: the middleware between Awell and the hospital. Communication usually goes through a Mirth server. See How Awell connects to other systems.
VPN
A Virtual Private Network creates a secure connection to another network over the internet.
Used for: the secure link between Awell and the hospital, required by every pull-based integration.
ADT message
Admission, Discharge, Transfer messages are typically sent by a Hospital Information System or registration application to tell other systems that a patient has been admitted, discharged or transferred.
Used for: getting patient information.
SIU message
Scheduling Information Unsolicited messages communicate information about a patient's appointment from the hospital scheduling system.
Used for: notifying Awell of a new appointment booking, a reschedule, a cancellation, or a change of service or resource.
ORU message
An HL7 message type for observation results.
Used for: sending PDFs and other reports back to the hospital.
RPA
Robotic Process Automation configures software to emulate a human interacting with digital systems.
Used for: bi-directional clinical data exchange with a hospital where no API exists.
Swimlane
A swimlane diagram is a flowchart that separates responsibilities across participants.
Used for: visualizing a process that spans Awell and another system, and agreeing the integration before building it.
Next steps
Next: Patient identifiers, which is how the same patient stays recognizable across all these systems.
Ways to connect an EMR
The mechanisms for getting patients from a hospital EMR into Awell, what each one requires from the hospital, and how to choose between them.
Patient identifiers
How Awell uses FHIR-style system and value pairs so one patient can carry several identifiers from several systems without losing which is which.